1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to interconnection of optical fibers and more specifically to increasing the integrity of the interconnection.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Optical interconnections are known in the art. Optical fibers are used in networking and electronic systems to carry large amounts of data. However, it has traditionally been difficult to make connections between optical fibers. Misalignment of the fibers or contamination of the mating surfaces of the fiber can significantly degrade the performance of the optical data link.
In many applications, optical fibers are joined by a splice, which is intended to be a permanent connection of the fibers. However, there are many applications where it a separable connection between optical fibers is desired. In many applications, it would be desirable if connections to an optical fiber could be made as easily as a connection to a traditional wire cable carrying electrical signals. For these applications, optical connectors have been developed. The optical connectors allow cables to be joined, thus acting as a separable splice for optical fibers to be connected to a circuit board or other assembly. Optical fibers are sometimes used to route signals between circuit boards in an electronic assembly. In these applications, the optical fibers are configured much like a traditional backplane connector in an electronic assembly, allowing boards to be inserted or removed from the assembly.
The connector provides alignment of the optical fibers. Some connectors are also built with shutters or doors that keep dust or other contaminants away from the mating face of the connector. The shutters open before the connectors can be mated.
Optical connectors are often packaged with dust covers. The dust covers are removed before the connector is used. However, even with the presence of a dust cover, it is standard practice in many applications to clean the connector before use.
It would be desirable to provide a connector system that is easy to use, particularly in a backplane configuration, that provides improved cleanliness, and therefore better performance.